Don’t ever play cards with Robin Edgar. Because, if he plays the same way he responds to Unitarian Universalists, then he’s bound to rig the deck in his favour. Always.

If you’re a UU minister, and you post something on your blog which he does not like, then he attacks you. He’ll even file a ‘formal complaint of clergy misconduct’ (albeit to the wrong people) against you, and demand a response.

If he does not get a response to his misplaced ‘formal complaint’, then he will continually hound and harass the President of the UUA for one (even though the President’s office is not where such complaints are supposed to be delivered)

Well, let us say that you now remove the offending post, for whatever reason. Still not good enough. Now you are guilty of ‘memory-holing,’ because in Robin Edgar’s bizarre view of reality, you can never ever make amends for any mistake, and you must be forced to live with your mistakes forever and ever and ever.

After Robin Edgar’s latest ‘Emerson Avenger’ post, repeating once again his overblown ‘charges’ against Reverend Cynthia Cain, we can just picture him like Glenn Close’s famous character:

‘I’m not going to be IGNO-O-O-ORED, UUs!!!’

And just like Michael Douglas, we’re left trying to explain to him: ‘You just don’t get it, do you?’

Sadly, no. Robin Edgar does not ‘get’ how his outlandish behaviour constitutes harassment, or how it differs from the conduct of the UU ministers he obsessively fixates upon.

Cynthia Cain posted a comment on her own blog about the mean-spirited words and actions of certain US Republican leaders. She pretty much left it at that.

Robin Edgar, on the other hand, notoriously doesn’t ‘leave it at that’ when he targets you. No, a single blog post is not enough – he must blog about you constantly. And comment about you on other blogs and Internet forums constantly. And barrage you with emails constantly. And, just for good measure, make a picket sign referring to you, and use it in his ‘peaceful public protests’ constantly.

Do you now see why we are concerned about how far he might be willing to go? Anybody this obsessed, and who feels ignored, to the point of ruining his own life on a hopeless crusade to ruin others, will not stop merely at verbal abuse and harassment.

Most people would have let go and moved on long ago. But not when they are as obsessive, self-centered, rage-filled and ‘entitled’ as Robin Edgar. He’s not going to be ignored.

Perhaps, then, we are doing a service. By not ignoring him, by warning UUs and others about the potential danger of his warped mindset and behaviour, we are diverting him away from a potential escalation to violence.

We can only hope, just as we hope that he will finally get the help he needs.

One of our readers has reported that he has tracked the origin of Robin Edgar’s Internet activity:

the IP listed is Bibliotheque Nationale Du Quebec.

Indeed, this is the provincial library for Quebec, and their website shows that, like other public libraries, they offer free Internet service. As our reader speculates:

if he’s accessing the internet through the library these days, that might mean he’s now unemployed- which would explain how he has time for all this. And why he’s been extra bitter lately, too.

Now, when most people lose a job, they devote their time to finding a new one. Instead, Robin Edgar appears to be increasing his lashing out at Unitarian Universalist. Does he actually believe this will get him gainful employment?

An alternative explanation is that he actually works at the library … and is doing his anti-UU blogging, commenting and web-surfing while on the job. Not likely, however, as most large employers tend to monitor their personnel’s computer activity these days.

Either way, we have a question for Mister Edgar. How can you continue to insist that you are not obsessed? Only an obsessed individual would spend more time online lashing out in anger at so many individuals instead of finding gainful employment and moving on with your life. Only an obsessed individual would engage in such behaviour while on the clock, placing their employment status in jeopary.

This is not the behaviour of a healthy individual. You need to move on with your life, sir. Rather than dwell on the ‘wrongs’ which you constantly allege have been done against you, or claiming to be some righteous crusader while behaving like a rage-filled stalker, the time is long overdue for you to let go. You say that you are a spiritual man, Mister Edgar. The great spiritual traditions of the world call for forgiveness of wrongs, whether perceived or real. Why are you so unable to embrace this virtue?

Get help, Mister Edgar. We implore you once again. Putting this campaign of rancor and bitterness above earning a decent wage makes no sense, and cannot lead to anything good for you.

‘Doesn’t this guy have anything better to do?’ We keep hearing this question with regard to Robin Edgar, repeated almost as often as his own perseverations. That got us thinking of things this man could do instead of wasting so much time and energy pointlessly attacking Unitarian Universalists, from picketing over and over again, to lodging the same tired complaints on his blog (and, unfortunately, the comment pages of other blogs).

So, in the spirit of David Letterman, here are our Top Ten suggestions for alternatives to Robin Edgar’s ridiculous anti-UU antics.

10) Start his own religion. If he is so convinced he could do a better job than the current (or, for that matter, any) leadership of the UUA, then why not form his own church in Montreal, and help others start similar communities elsewhere. Since this whole thing apparently started over his revelation, then why not make it the centrepiece of a new spiritual movement?

9) Get a (second?) job. It’s not clear whether Robin Edgar is gainfully employed. If not, then he could at least try to get some full-time employment. If so, then why not channel all of that energy into a second job?

8) Take a writing course. God only knows his hackneyed rants show a need!

7) Start dating. None of his writings indicate he has a significant other. Well, how could he, what with spending all of his time typing rants on his blog, making new picket signs, picketing the Montreal church, travelling to picket other UU churches and meetings? Who knows what might happen if he made room in his life for somebody else?

6) Volunteer.There are so many people in need of care and assistance: elderly, disabled, children from disadvantaged single parent homes. So why not put all that energy and emotion into helping them, instead of tearing others down in a vain attempt to aggrandise himself?

5) Join a real protest movement. There are also worthy causes whose leaders would welcome somebody willing to stand hours at a time holding a sign, or make video records of newsworthy events.

4) Go to the gym. If Robin Edgar can lug video equipment and signs all over Montreal, he could improve his health by lifting weights and running on a treadmill.

3) Go to the library. Or, he could pick up some books, and fill his mind with something more constructive than his obsessive fixations.

2) Meditate. These are not the actions of somebody who has found peace. What would happen if he managed to do so?

And the number one suggestion, not only from us but from so many who have read his online tirades or witnessed his antics on the street…

It is typical of malignant narcissists to play a warped game of tit-for-tat. When those around him talk about something else, he cries, ‘What about me?’ When they try to point out his own antisocial behaviour, he points an accusing finger and snarls, ‘What about her?’

Such is the course of Robin Edgar. When asked if he would pleadge not to use physical violence against Unitarian Universalists, he not only refuses to give a straightforward answer, but once again picks on somebody else. In this case, it is Reverend Victoria Weinstein.

Again, he harps on a post she made, and later deleted. Mister Edgar, you are the one obsessed with anal impalements, not to mention connecting so many other things with the human rectum. Reverend Weinstein has moved on, and you are still unable to.

He also repeats his diatribe about an incident remarked about in 2005. We also commented on this ten months ago, and we made it clear that we did not condone such behaviour. Not enough for Robin Edgar, because when confronted with his own irrational and spiteful antics, he needs somebody else to point to as a distraction. ‘What about her?’

If that were not enough, he accuses unnamed members of the Montreal church of physically assaulting him. Really, sir? Then why no mention of any criminal complaints filed by you against these individuals? Where is your evidence? Where are your witnesses?

But let us return to the point, Mister Edgar – your behaviour. You have been harassing, attacking, stalking, insulting, offending and generally acting like that part of the human anatomy you so love to point out, for almost two decades now. You have widened your circle of targets, spewing venom and bile at any and all UUs who refuse to join your endless crusade. Like other obsessed stalkers before you who have done likewise, either at the lady who spurned them, or the employer who fired or refused to hire them, yours is a clear pattern of escalation.

First you expect to trust that you will not be violent because you have not yet been violent. Again, let’s point out the danger of escalation, where the offending behaviour only gets worse and worse as the obsessed stalker decides he has to ‘take it up a notch’ to get what he wants (and, in his warped view of things, somehow deserves). During the time you were a member of the Montreal church, you were asked to abide by certain covenants, and then violated those covenants. So how can you be trusted now?

Worse yet, Robin Edgar claims the right to what he calls ‘legitimate self-defense.’ Well, we have seen what he considers to be ‘legitmate’ in terms of grievances and complaints – simply another excuse for him to pick a fight, denigrate somebody else, and draw attention to himself. We would hate to see what somebody so self-centered would regard as ‘self-defense.’

We would hate to see the Montreal church needing to become a fortress. But it is clear that Robin Edgar cannot be trusted to remain nonviolent, considering the violence of the words and imagery he chooses to use, and the examples he cites (exaggerated and distorted as they are) to rationalize and justify his already outrageous behaviour.

Members and friends of the Unitarian Church of Montreal – please be careful! The potential danger of this man should not be underestimated. Do whatever you can within the bounds of law and reason to keep Robin Edgar at bay.

We have commented before on the use of violent rhetoric and imagery in Robin Edgar’s blog and comments, and our concern that the escalation we have observed could lead to his eventually becoming violent in actuality. He has chosen to respond that he has always remained ‘peaceful’ (albeit with a continually angry tone, preferably laden with insults such as ‘morons’ and ‘asshats’).

Still, we notice that he has never explicitly pledged to remain nonviolent in his actions, but that his choice of words and images continues to reveal a man consumed with such bitterness and rage, that those who become his targets have good cause to be concerned for their very safety.

Mister Edgar, this is our question to you: Will you now pledge to never engage in violent actions against any and all Unitarian Universalists?

It is a simple question, and one deserving of an answer. Since you are so fond of perseverating how you only engage in ‘peaceful public protest,’ will you now assure by your promise that your behaviour will always remain peacful, and that you will at least take no action to do physical harm against those whom you protest against?

Well, at least Robin Edgar is not claiming to speak for ‘victims’ of UU ‘injustices, abuses and hypocrisies.’ Now his latest complaint is about his ‘peaceful public protest’ being ‘silenced’ by the Unitarian Church of Montreal calling the police.

As reported before by a member of the UCM, the Montreal police were the ones who advised the local church to call them whenever he harassed them.

Robin Edgar now wants his repeated lashing out at the UCM, at UU ministers, and indeed at UUs everywhere, to be a form of ‘dissent’ instead of what it really is: harassment, pure and simple.

Dissenters have a point to get across. Harassers simply attack their targets for the sake of attacking them, and any message they might have had becomes lost in the process. Robin Edgar has been attacking so often and for so long, it has caused scores of individuals all over to ask him why he keeps doing it (and he keeps telling them to go look for themselves, or goes on yet another long tirade about how he was abused by ‘obnoxious’ UUs, all the while neglecting to mention his own abusive and obnoxious behaviour).

The goal of dissent is to get those with whom you disagree to listen and make changes, or to call on other to pressure those into doing so. The goal of harassment is to shame, humiliate and intimidate, with no clear goal in sight. Robin Edgar has not merely ‘disagreed’ with UUs but has resorted to personal attacks, verbal abuse, deliberately offensive behaviour, and even outright defamation; but whenever asked to state what he hopes to accomplish, the only clear answer he’s given has been for a dispute now over a decade past to be reviewed yet again, and to be found in his favour simply because he refuses to even consider that he might be wrong.

Unitarian Universalists welcome healthy disagreement. It is what brought our faith movement into existence. That is a far cry, however, from the blatantly disagreeable conduct of Robin Edgar, which has persisted for far too long.

Another repetitious blog post from Robin Edgar, this time standing in front of the Unitarian Church of Montreal (and his mounted video camera), twirling his big orange signs, often looking over his shoulder, as he delivers yet another monologue about how so many people have done him wrong. Unitarian Universalists have done him wrong. Quebec Crown prosecutors have done him wrong. Judges and police have done him wrong. Why?

Well, let’s see now. He engaged in a relentless campaign of harassment and disruptive behaviour, all because he did not like what Reverend Ray Drennan had to say about his insistence that an ‘interfaith celebration’ be held at the church every time there was a solar eclipse, all based on his own personal ‘revelation’. It continues, and even escalates, long after he has been twice suspended from the church, and finally removed from membership. He files a complaint with the Quebec Human Rights Commission, which is dismissed as being without merity. He begins to harass the current minister, Reverend Diane Rollert, who gets a restraining order.

The church exercised its right to exclude a disruptive and malicious person from his attempts to impose his will on the rest of the congregation. The police did their duty by responding to complaints. The prosecutors and judges of Montreal’s courts did their duty in following through with those complaints.

So, what exactly did they do that was so wrong? What did they do to deserve Robin Edgar?

From what we can tell, the only ‘crime’ these individuals and organizations did was dare to disagree with Robin Edgar.

Right now, the prime assertion which Robin Edgar is defending is an absolute right to engage in ‘peaceful public protest,’ as he is so apt to repeat over and over again (including a number of times in his three minute video). How dare anybody try to intimidate him from trying to intimidate the Unitarian Church of Montreal and the Quebec Crown prosecutors by means of ‘peaceful public protest’, a/k/a ‘alternative spiritual practice’! No, no, no! The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that right, and so he will exercise it whenever and wherever he wants, as often as he wants!

All right, then, Mister Edgar. What if Unitarian, Crown prosecutors, and others who are fed up with your antics, decide to engage in ‘peaceful public protest’ against you? Picketing outside of your home, your workplace, the coffee shop that you frequent? Following you wherever you go, demanding ‘justice’ for your hypocritical and outrageous behaviour? If you have the absolute right to harass others under the guise of ‘peaceful public protest’, then shouldn’t others have the absolute right to do the same to you?

It would not surprise us if somebody decided to do that. Mind you, we are not saying that they should. But, if they did, what possible argument would Robin Edgar have to say that they couldn’t?

It would appear that Robin Edgar has entered another ‘manic phase,’ so to speak, of picketing and posting. Stimulated by the Crown Prosecutors’ strike in Montreal, it matters not to him that their demands and his demands have not connection whatsoever. No, he’s going on a binge of pickets in the city, and six blog posts in two days.

And his message in sum? Perhaps it could reduced to: ‘Lookit me say UUs bad!’

He continually attacks and accuses UUs of any and every form of wrongdoing he can think of, even when he fails to provide any proof behind his accusations and allegations. He continually complains about the same people and same events, even when those people are long since gone, and those events years or decades behind.

Robin Edgar gloats that his crusade for ‘justice’ (translation: Robin Edgar getting whatever he wants, whatever that may be) has been going on for fifteen years. Let’s see, now. Mister Edgar has been attacking, harassing, insulting, and by his own admission gone out of his way to be deliberately offensive and annoying, for a decade and a half. And what progress has be acheived? As far as we can tell, None!

Yet he keeps doing the same thing, over and over again, each time hoping for a different result. Is that not a classic definition of insanity?

So Robin Edgar continues his picketing and harassing of the Unitarian Church of Montreal, explicitly stating that he chose a Saturday concert instead of a Sunday service ‘because they normally attract non-Unitarian members of the public’. So much for merely protesting for a redress of his grievances; it is clear he’s out to embarass and bad-mouth Unitarian Universalists for not kow-towing to his demands.

We also noticed this interesting observation on his ‘Emerson Avenger’ post:

‘[U]nlike some concerts held at the Unitarian Church of Montreal, this one was very well attended by members of the non-U*U public, including quite a few twenty something people who were most probably university students. This unusually high number of students showing up for a classical concert at the Unitarian Church of Montreal might have *something* to do with the fact that students were granted free admission rather than a reduced ticket price.

Can U*Us say “recruiting”?’

Yes, Robin Edgar, Unitarian Universalists reach out to college students and young people, even offering incentives for them to attend their events and meet like-minded people. So does every other religious group. So do political groups and college fraternities.

You yourself tried to ‘recruit’ other people into holding your ‘Creation Day’ services whenever there was a total eclipse of the sun, based on your belief that God put it there for some significant purpose. Then, when the Montreal church decided it wasn’t worth the time and resources to host your events, you threw a temper tantrum. Now you’ve been on a hate-filled, insult-laden crusade ever since, even trying to recruit other people into joining that crusade, and when they don’t back your actions one hundred percent, then you turn against them, too.

Groups like the Montreal church have the right to recruit. They also have the right to refuse or withdraw membership to those who violate their rules. That’s what they did, and it’s time you got over it. But since it is abundantly clear, after so many fruitless years, that you are totally incapabale of moving on, then you need help, in the form of a qualified mental health therapist.

As for the Montreal church, we repeat once more that it is high time you deal with this stalker once and for all. File a complaint of criminal harassment under Section 264 of Canada’s criminal code. Get this man off your sidewalk permanently, before he goes off the deep end and seeks a ‘permanent’ solution to his endlessly increasing list of complaints.